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THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


Extracts  from 

“ rhe  Army  and  Religion” 

by 

PROFESSOR  D.  S.  CAIRNS 


With  Introduction  by 
SHERWOOD  EDDY 


INTERCHURCH  WORLD  MOVEMENT 
OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


45  WEST  18th  STREET  NEW  YORK  CITY 


4 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


INTRODUCTION 

A remarkable  book  has  just  been  issued  in  England 
on  “The  Army  and  Religion,”  edited  by  Professor  D.  S. 
Cairns  of  Aberdeen.  An  edition  has  been  published  in 
America  by  the  Association  Press,  and  with  its  kind  per- 
mission, the  extracts  in  this  pamphlet  are  printed.* 

The  book  arose  from  a questionnaire,  sent  to  the 
officers,  men  and  hut  workers  in  the  armies  in  France, 
especially  in  the  British  Army.  The  book  is  based  upon 
nearly  300  memoranda  and  upon  the  evidence  of  many 
hundreds  of  witnesses  of  all  ranks,  from  generals  down  to 
privates,  from  chaplains,  war  workers  and  committees 
appointed  at  the  great  base  camps  of  the  armies  in 
France  and  England. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  armies  constituted 
the  young  manhood  of  the  nations  in  arms.  The  war,  by 
a lightning  flash,  revealed  in  its  lurid  light  the  hearts  of 
men.  It  showed  how  far  the  churches  had  reached  or 
failed  to  reach  the  manhood  of  these  nations.  The  replies 
from  hundreds  of  witnesses  go  to  show  that  the  majority 
of  the  men  were  outside  the  churches,  unreached  by  them 
and  practically  unevangelized.  They  are  filled  with 
deep  lessons  and  with  suggestive  material  of  great  value 
both  for  ministers  and  laymen.  These  documents  and 
testimonies  of  the  men  themselves  constitute  a remarkable 
revelation  of  the  human  heart.  While  most  of  the  replies 
deal  primarily  with  the  British  Army  the  findings  are 
equally  applicable  to  America.  The  first  half  of  the 
material,  under  Part  I,  deals  with  diagnosis;  the  last  half, 
in  Part  II,  with  the  cure. 

* “The  Army  and  Religion,”  447  pages,  price  $2.00.  Association 
Press,  347  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


5 


The  Questionnaire  sent  to  the  soldiers  and  workers 
contained  the  following; 

1.  What  the  men  are  thinking  about  religion, 
morality  and  society.  “What  faiths  and  standards  are 
the  men  living  by?  Do  they  take  a material  view  of  life 
and  morality,  and  if  so,  have  you  any  opinion  as  to  the 
cause  of  it?  What  are  the  limitations  and  weaknesses 
shown  by  the  men,  and,  in  consequence,  what  are  the 
difficulties  which  the  Christian  church  has  to  face  in 
her  work  for  the  Kingdom  of  God?  What  do  the  men 
criticise  in  the  present  social  order?  Have  they,  as  a 
whole,  any  clear  idea  of  what  the  Christian  religion  is? 
What  do  they  think  about  Jesus  Christ? 

2.  The  Changes  made  by  the  War.  Has  the  war 
made  any  real  difference  in  their  moral  and  religious 
outlook  and  character?  Has  it  made  them  think  more 
deeply?  Has  it  made  any  new  difficulties  of  belief  for 
them,  or  made  them  more  open  at  any  points  to  religious 
appeal  ? Are  the  men  interested  in  how  to  bring  about  a 
better  world  and  an  enduring  peace  ? 

3.  The  Relation  of  the  men  to  the  churches.  What 
percentage  would  you  say  are  vitally  related  to  any  of  the 
Christian  communions?  What  are  the  hindrances  keep- 
ing them  out  of  the  churches  ? What  do  they  really  think 
of  the  churches?  Do  they  look  at  all  to  the  church  for 
help  in  facing  the  social  and  national  problems  of  the 
future?  What  kind  of  help  do  the  men  need  and  look 
for  from  the  church,  and  what  changes  in  the  churches’ 
methods  would  be  necessary  to  meet  those  wants?” 

The  replies  from  hundreds  of  witnesses  and  the  experi- 
ence of  many  hundreds  of  workers  among  the  men, 
showed  on  the  one  hand  that  there  were  vast  potentiali- 
ties of  good,  unsuspected  depths  of  heroism,  sacrifice, 
unselfishness,  good  cheer  and  comradeship  in  these  men. 
The  material  showed  how  truly  great  was  the  raw  stuff  of 


6 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


humanity,  how  noble  and  how  well  worth  winning  these 
men  are.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  showed  the  poverty 
of  their  past  spiritual  life,  how  unready  they  were  to 
stand  the  strain  of  the  war ; and  it  showed  a vast  epidemic 
of  profanity  and  wide-spread  immorality. 

Large  masses  of  the  men  constituting  the  four-fifths 
who  were  unreached  by  the  churches  before  the  war  were 
found  to  have  an  innate  belief  in  God,  a vague  theism 
which  expressed  itself  in  prayer  in  times  of  danger. 
They  had  an  instinctive  reverence  for  Christ  and  an  intui- 
tive sense  of  a life  beyond,  coupled  with  a vague  fatalism. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  majority  of  these  men  did 
not  know  God  as  Father;  they  did  not  know  Jesus  Christ 
either  in  His  heroic  manhood,  nor  as  Christ  Crucified, 
revealing  the  very  heart  of  God  the  Father,  nor  Christ  as 
risen  in  power  to  save  and  keep  them  “more  than 
conquerors”  in  the  midst  of  temptation. 

In  the  replies  to  the  questions  the  men  have  spoken 
out  frankly  in  their  criticism  of  the  churches,  showing 
that  they  believe  they  are  largely  out  of  touch  with  reality, 
with  humanity,  with  labor  and  with  the  unprivileged 
masses.  They  say  frankly  that  the  divided  church  has 
failed  to  speak  with  one  voice  on  the  great  moral  issues, 
that  it  failed  to  prevent  the  war,  failed  to  meet  their 
needs  during  the  war,  and  does  not  today  present  a 
challenging  program  which  can  command  their  loyal 
allegiance  or  which  calls  them  to  live  and  dare  with  the 
same  high  spirit  of  sacrifice  which  they  showed  in  the 
war. 

The  whole  evidence  constitutes  a call  for  the  church 
to  return  to  God,  for  all  the  Christian  forces  to  unite 
on  some  challenging  program,  to  find  a new  and  stronger 
faith  in  the  power  of  the  living  Christ  and  to  gird  them- 
selves to  the  great  task  of  winning  the  youth  of  the 
nation  for  the  real  service  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  We 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


7 


have  been  accommodating  ourselves  to  circumstances 
instead  of  accommodating  ourselves  to  God.  The  war 
showed,  the  vast,  latent  capacity  for  heroism  and  sacri- 
fice in  the  men.  We  must  consummate  this  great  cruci- 
fixion of  humanity  by  a spiritual  resurrection. 

'The  following  pages  are  taken  from  the  answers  of 
the  men  and  workers  at  the  front  and  the  conclusions 
based  upon  them  reached  by  Professor  Cairns  and  the 
large  committee  of  Christian  workers  among  the  soldiers 
in  France  and  England.*  Space  has  prevented  giving 
continuous  or  full  quotations  from  this  book  of  more  than 
440  pages;  only  brief  excerpts  of  Professor  Cairns’  own 
words  are  given  in  this  pamphlet  and  without  quotation 
marks.  The  selections  in  quotation  marks-  are  from 
the  men  and  workers  at  the  front  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
we  have  let  them  speak  for  themselves. 

Sherwood  Eddy. 

The  -Aim  and  .Scope  of  the  Inquiry 

The  vast  conflagration  of  the  war  has  lit  up  the  past 
for  us  with  a revealing  flame.  The  weak  and  the  strong 
things  in  the  life  of  each  nation  have  been  dragged  to 
the  light.  We  never  knew  before  the  depth  of  heart  of 
our  own  youth.  Nor,  it  may  be  added,  did  we  realize 
as  we  should,  how  poor  was  the  use  we  were  making  of 
that  human  material,  how  grave  were  the  defects  of  our 
educational  systems,  the  anarchy  and  materialism  of  our 
industry  and  commerce.  Now  that  the  war  is  over,  there 
will  be  great  and  far-reaching  changes,  as  the  result  of 
the  new  knowledge,  in  the  whole  structure  of  the  national 
and  international  life  of  Christendom. 

* The  facts  and  conclusions  in  this  report  are  strikingly  verified 
in  the  American  investigation,  “Religion  Among  American  Men 
as  Revealed  by  a Study  of  Conditions  in  the  Army,”  by  the 
Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook,  published  by 
Association  Press. 


8 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  army  contained  the 
flower  of  the  young  manhood  of  the  nation.  Like  Grant’s 
veterans,  these  men  will  dominate  the  future  of  our 
nation  and  shape  its  destinies  for  a generation  to  come. 
The  war  was  a veritable  apocalypse  of  youth,  the  taking 
away  of  a great  veil  that  had  fallen  between  us  in  the 
churches  and  the  men  who  stood  aloof.  Who  were  these 
men  ? The  chapters  which  follow  will  show  that  a great 
preponderance  of  them  were  men  who  “had  no  use”  for 
any  of  the  churches,  who  were  under  an  extraordinary 
misunderstanding  as  to  what  the  Christian  religion  really 
is,  who,  instead  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  had  a dim 
notion  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  best  of  men  who  died 
long  ago,  and  to  whom  the  very  idea  that  He  was  alive 
today  and  able  to  help  them  in  their  hour  of  need,  was  a 
mere  dream. 


Part  One 
THE  FACTS 

I The  Religious  Impact  of  the  War 

NE  writes : “The  Army  of  today  is  pot  a class  apart; 
it  is  the  nation,  within  certain  limits,  in  arms.  To 
ask  for  the  Army’s  opinion  on  religion  is  to  inquire  into 
the  views  of  this  nation.” 

Broadly  speaking,  the  evidence  shows  conclusively  that 
at  the  front  the  impact  of  danger  awakens  the  religious 
consciousness  even  of  the  most  unlikely  men.  The  men 
of  the  armies,  however  dim  their  faith  may  be,  do  in  the 
hour  of  danger  at  least,  believe  in  God,  “the  great  and 
terrible  God.”  Most  men,  we  are  told,  pray  before  they 
go  over  the  parapet,  or  advance  in  the  face  of  machine 
guns  and  they  thank  God  when  they  have  come  through 
the  battle.  No  one  who  knows  the  history  of  religion 
can  fail  to  see  the  importance  even  of  so  simple  and 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


9 


primitive  an  act  of  recognition  of  the  Unseen  as  this.  It 
is  an  implicit  repudiation  of  that  material  view  of  life 
which  is  being  judged  in  the  thunder  and  flame  around 
the  men  who  pray.  “The  soldier  has  got  religion,  1 am 
not  so  sure  that  he  has  got  Christianity,”  was  the  saying 
of  one. 

A chaplain  who  served  in  the  ranks  describes  his  own 
experience  thus;  “Two  convictions  possessed  me.  The 
first  was  the  reality  of  God,  and  the  other  the  absolute 
impossibility  that  so  great  a thing  as  life,  as  we  are  ex- 
periencing it,  could  come  to  an  end  with  death.  In  times 
of  danger  men  cry  out  to  God.  They  have  had,  perhaps 
for  the  first  time,  a certain  religious  experience ; it  is  a 
foundation  for  further  building.” 

An  officer  interprets  the  average  irreligious  man’s 
thoughts  as  follows ; “As  he  draws  near  the  line  for  the 
first  time,  he  becomes  growingly  aware  that  he  has  missed 
something  vital  in  life ; he  becomes  aware  of  this  need 
for  God,  but  he  does  not  know  how  to  find  Him.  He 
resolves  that  if  he  comes  through  alive,  he  will  seek  till 
he  finds.  He  prays  in  the  hour  of  battle.  But  when  he 
goes  back  to  the  rest  camp  or  the  base  he  forgets  and 
often  yields  to  temptation.” 

The  marked  drift  of  the  evidence  is  that,  taken  as  a 
whole,  the  men  vaguely  believe  in  the  life  to  come. 
“Mostly  the  men  believe  in  God  and  a vague  future  life.” 

From  a brigadier-general : “To  nearly  all  of  us,  I think, 
it  is  not  that  we  believe  in  a future  life,  but  that  we  know 
that  there  is  a life  beyond  death.  This  is  where  we  shall 
all  be  open  to  religious  appeal,  and  where  the  churches 
will  have  a great  chance.” 

What  we  have  to  realize  is  that  with  most  there  is  not 
so  much  a revival  of  religious  faith  as  a revival  of  a new 
interest  and  a sense  of  need.  This  is  what  constitutes 
the  opportunity. 


10 


THE  HEARTS  OK  MEN 


II  Thoughts  About  Jesus  Christ 

I HERE  is  no  point  in  our  whole  inquiry  that  is  more 
central  than  the  endeavor  to  discover  the  average 
soldier’s  mind  about  Jesus  Christ.  To  find  out  this,  we 
put  three  questions.  We  asked  directly  what  the  men 
thought  about  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  inquiry  as  to 
“points  of  contact”  we  asked  what  they  thought  of  the 
Cross  and  of  the  living  Christ. 

The  I’crsuiialiiy  of  Christ 

There  is  practically  universal  respect  and  even  rever- 
ence for  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  recognized  by  all  the  think- 
ing men  as  the  best  of  the  race,  though  the  heroic  side  of 
his  character  is  largely  unknown  and  it  is  clear  that  of 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  and  as  the  Atoning  Sacrifice  for 
the  world,  they  have  little  or  no  knowledge. 

From  an  officer : “The  message  of  Christ  has  clearly 
never  reached  the  great  majority  of  the  men  at  all.” 

From  a hut  worker:  “Christ  is  a far-off,  historical 
character,  a great  ideal  of  clean  living,  the  background  to 
our  child  prayers,  the  beautiful  beneficent  figure  in  art 
productions,  but  He  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  daily 
round.” 

From  a staff  chaplain:  “I  think  the  appeal  of  Jesus  is 
seriously  hindered  by  the  unreality  and  sentimentality 
of  our  traditional  presentation.  He  remains  remote,  until 
we  can  show  that  the  ideals  of  the  average  man  are 
summed  up  and  perfected  in  Him.” 

Unless  we  can  succeed  in  showing  the  greatness  and 
heroism  of  the  character  of  our  Lord,  there  may  be  a 
great  breaking  away  even  from  such  faith  in  Him  as  they 
have.  The  cause  of  it  is  that  such  religious  knowledge 
of  Him  as  they  have  is  largely  a survival  from  child- 
ish days. 

The  Cross 

We  find  a new  appreciation  of  the  marvel  of  the  Cross.. 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


11 


It  is  clear  that  before  the  war  it  must  have  had  little 
meaning  for  most  of  the  men,  but  suddenly  it  has  crossed 
their  path  and  has  won  a new,  strange  meaning,  a mean- 
ing thrilling  with  memories  of  pain  and  honor  and  faith- 
ful love.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  when  preachers  speak  to 
them  henceforward  about  the  Cross  of  Christ,  the  word 
will  have  a new  depth  and  wealth  of  meaning  associated 
with  it. 

From  a sergeant:  “The  Cross!  What  could  not  the 
churches  do  for  the  world,  if  they  could  only  connect  the 
symbols  Christ  gave  us  with  the  knowledge  that  is  within 
the  hearts  of  the  people?  There  must  be  more  known 
about  suffering  and  sacrifice  now  in  the  hearts  of  men 
than  at  any  past  time,  but  it  is  all  isolated,  disconnected, 
hidden  out  of  sight.” 

A sergeant  in  the  Regulars  who  had  seen  disease-  and 
death  in  many  camps,  referring  to  a crowd  of  gas  patients, 
said : “This  sort  of  thing  makes  me  want  to  suffer  every- 
thing for  everyone  once  and  get  it  over.”  Sergeant  C. 
was  not  very  religious  nor  thoughtful  yet  he  expressed 
in  these  few  words  the  Christian  instinct  of  “greater 
love.”  Another  sergeant  says : “The  Cross  made  it  pos- 
sible for  one  to  go  on,  as  one  felt  it  was  worth  while  if 
God  could  suffer  and  die  for  all  this  sin.” 

The  Living  Christ 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  great  multitude  of 
men,  representing,  according  to  the  general^  drift  of  our 
witnesses  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  younger  manhood 
of  the  nation  in  the  armies,  do  not  seem  to  have  so  much 
as  heard  that  there  is  a Holy  Spirit  through  whom  they 
may  know  the  presence  of  Christ.  Or  if  they  have  heard, 
they  have  not  understood. 

From  a gunner:  “Men  look  on  Christ  as  an  historical 
figure,  not  as  a living  and  present  Redeemer.”  From  an 
officer : “The  Living  Christ  is  a mere  phrase  to  the  men.” 


12 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


“They  are  always  very  anxious  to  tell  you,”  writes  an 
officer,  “that  they  do  not  believe  anything  about  Christ 
as  the  churches  taught,  though  they  admit  that  they  owe 
their  religion  to  Him.  Somehow  the  center  and  core  of 
religion  are  there.  He  stood  for  the  fulness  of  man’s 
stature  and  the  greatness  of  God’s  love.” 

The  practical  religion  of  these  men,  so  far  as  it  is 
operative  at  all,  is  a kind  of  vague  theism,  what  one  of 
our  witnesses  has  called  “a  blind,  incoherent  faith  in  a 
great,  unseen  benevolence.”  It  is  thus  in  a measure  suf- 
fused with  Christian  elements,  but  in  the  main  God  and 
Christ  are  severed  in  their  minds. 

It  must  be  clear  from  what  has  been  said  that  it  is  high 
time  that  the  churches  should  resolutely  set  to  work  to 
clear  out  of  the  way  the  errors  and  misunderstandings 
that  come  between  these  men  and  Christ.  It  is  intolerable 
that  His  humanity  should  be  so  veiled  from  them.  Thus 
a chaplain  writes  : “The  men  largely  miss  Christ  through 
lack  of  reliable  information  about  Him.”  Another  chap- 
lain says : “I  feel  that  the  work  before  the  churches  lies 
largely  in  the  full  interpretation  of  Christ  to  them.” 

There  are  many  indications  that  a faithful  preaching 
of  Christ  as  the  Giver  of  power  to  overcome  temptation 
and  to  follow  His  teachings  would  meet  with  an  over- 
whelming response. 


HI  Misiinderstandincs 


T the  very  bottom  of  the  vast  confusions  of  the  pres- 


ent  situation  there  is  a very  great  amount  of  down- 
right misunderstanding.  If  this  contention  can  be  estab- 
lished, then  it  will  evidently  be  the  Church’s  duty  to 
remove  those  misconceptions  that  are  responsible  for  so 
much  loss  and  alienation. 

Two  questions  were  inserted  in  our  list:  “Have  the  men 
in  general  any  clear  idea  of  what  Christianity  is?”  and 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


13 


“Do  they  think  of  the  Christian  life  as  the  following  of 
negative  commandments,  or  as  a life  of  active  good- 
will?” 

The  answers  to  the  first  question  are  all  to  the  efifect 
that  the  vast  majority  are  in  a condition  of  ignorance 
about  the  Christian  religion.  “They  have  not  the  foggiest 
notion  of  what  it  is  all  about.”  Thus,  what  was  meant 
to  be  a solution  of  the  riddle  of  life  and  death  becomes 
little  more  than  a new  problem  super-added  to  it.  We 
shall  make  no  headway  whatever  with  the  spiritual  con- 
quest of  our  nation  for  Christ  and  His  Kingdom  until 
we  have  allowed  this  tremendous  fact  to  possess  our 
consciousness  and  to  dominate  our  thoughts  and  plans  for 
the  future. 

To  the  other  question,  which  is  mainly  concerned  with 
the  ethical  ideals  of  Christianity,  the  dominant  stream  of 
evidence  is  to  the  effect  that  in  the  main  the  men  think 
of  Christian  morality  mainly  as  a system  of  negative 
commandments.  What  the  Church  has  to  do  is  to  show 
these  men  that  the  religious  emotion  and  outlook  they 
have  discovered  is  Christianity  in  embryo.  The  big  dif- 
ficulty is  to  get  them  to  connect  their  ideals  with  their 
Christianity,  if  they  have  any.  They  do  not  see  that 
Christ  is  the  source  of  most  of  their  ideals. 

IV  The  Moral  Impact  of  the  War 

IT  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  moral  impact  of  the  war. 

Under  its  terrible  strain  on  mind  and  spirit  there  was, 
on  the  one  hand,  a hardening  process  tending  to  stunt 
the  whole  man  and  leading  to  reaction;  the  materialistic 
environment  of  the  war  tended  to  kill  thought  and  con- 
centrate attention  on  the  body,  to  produce  a craving  for 
excitement,  often  leading  to  immorality.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  was  a brighter  side.  The  war  developed  the 
humanity,  the  sympathy  and  the  fellowship  of  men;  it 


14 


THE  HEARTS  OF  ME  53 


had  a broadening  and  deepening  effect.  Many  were 
forced  to  think.  The  evidence  goes  to  show  how  poorly 
equipped  the  men  were  spiritually  and  intellectually  to 
meet  the  great  crisis. 

An  officer  writes : “The  war  has  created  a new  tender- 
ness between  man  and  man,  a new  sense  of  fellowship  and 
social  sympathy.”  The  war  had  also  a broadening  and 
deepening  effect.  A chaplain  says : “I  am  writing  broadly 
of  the  mass  of  men,  hitherto  out  of  touch  with  the 
churches.  I am  convinced  that  of  the  hundreds  of  men 
who  go  into  action  the  majority  by  far  come  out  af- 
fected towards  good  rather  than  coarsened.  They  come 
out  realizing  that  there  are  times  when  they  cannot  get 
on  without  God ; they  are  not  afraid  of  Him,  they  flee  to 
Him  with  their  simple  cries  for  strength  because  their 
surroundings  are  so  exacting.  Conscience,  instinct,  tells 
them  that  these  surroundings  are  not  of  God’s  making. 
What  a challenge  to  the  churches ! Hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  men  returning  home,  having  learnt  the  lesson 
that  they  cannot  get  on  without  God.  The  demand  for 
reality  in  the  churches  will  be  immensely  stronger  after 
the  war — and  so  will  the  impatience  with  trifles.’’ 

In  the  fierce  trial  of  the  war,  among  the  things  which 
have  been  tried  and  found  wanting  is  our  educational  sys- 
tem. This  applies  to  our  secular  and  religious  education 
alike.  The  great  mass  of  men  cannot  think  for  themselves. 
“Generally  speaking,  they  are  not  thinking  at  all.  They 
are  just  carrying  on.”  Men  are  usually  immoral  from 
ignorance  or  thoughtlessness.  They  drink  because  they 
are  ignorant  of  intellectual  stimulus.  They  swear  without 
meaning  it.  They  cannot  use  language  that  has  any 
meaning.  The  root  of  the  whole  sexual  evil  also  lies  in 
the  mind.  The  men  appeared  to  have  no  mental  resources 
to  fall  back  upon.  The  Bible  was  to  them  practically  a 
closed  book..  The  “Word”  has  never  been  made  flesh  for 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


15 


them.  “Lost  to  Christ’s  church  at  the  age  of  adoles- 
cence” accounts  for  much  that  we  see  in  the  religious 
condition  of  the  men.  Thus  an  officer  writes : “The  mes- 
sage of  Christianity  has  clearly  never  reached  the  great 
majority  of  the  men  at  all.” 

The  thought  with  which  one  turns  from  this  part  of  the 
evidence  is  how  poorly  equipped  the  men  were  spiritually 
and  intellectually  for  so  sudden  and  terrible  a crisis. 
Church  and  nation  ought  to  have  done  better  by  them. 
They  are  confused  and  bewildered  and  the  more  earnest 
minds  among  them  are  seeking  after  a deeper  faith.  To 
such  men  we  must  make  our  appeal.  The  real  spiritual 
conflict  is  at  hand.  The  time  has  come  to  throw  the 
reserves  into  the  spiritual  battle  in  order  that  the  free- 
dom won  in  the  earthly  war  by  so  vast  a sacrifice  of 
human  life  and  happiness  may  be  used  for  the  building 
up  of  a nobler  social  order  and  the  laying  of  the  founda- 
tions of  an  associated  instead  of  a warring  world  society. 


Lights  anu  Shadows 


HE  war  brought  out  both  the  strength  and  the  weak- 


ness  of  the  men.  It  revealed  at  once  their  virtues  and 
vices.  It  showed  a wealth  of  unselfishness  and  herosim 
hitherto  undreamed  of.  It  brought  out  the  virtue  of  cheer- 
fulness, devotion,  comradeship,  a sense  of  duty,  courage, 
sincerity  and  humility.  On  its  darker  side,  the  profanity 
and  immorality  of  the  men  was  revealed.  These  were  two 
aspects  of  the  same  humanity.  And  we  must  understand 
these  men  in  war  or  peace  if  we  are  to  reach  them. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  the  sharpness  of  the  contrast 
when  we  turn  from  the  comparative  poverty  of  the  relig- 
ious thoughts  and  ideals  of  the  men  to  the  wealth  of  noble 
virtues  which  they  reveal  in  their  relationship  to  one 
another.  A chaplain  writes : “I  was  immensely  impressed 
by  the  native  grandeur  of  human  nature.  Unredeemed 


16 


THE  HEARTS  OE  MEN 


human  nature  is  infinitely  nobler  than  I had  dreamed. 
The  natural  man  is  still  a bit  of  rare  material,  capable  of 
being  moulded  into  something  magnificent.”  A nurse  in 
France  says : “They  love  giving,  they  bear  pain  patiently, 
they  honor  womanhood,  they  reverence  goodness.” 

From  a sergeant:  “This  general  sharing  of  things,  and 
this  helping  of  one  another  is  due  to  the  fact  that  all  are 
comrades.  The  churches  have  yet  to  realize  the  power  of 
friendship.  Friendship  out  here  is  one  of  the  great  sac- 
raments of  life.  They  are  vastly  sensitive  to  suffering  or 
misfortune  and  will  sacrifice  themselves  to  the  uttermost 
to  help  a ‘pal,’  but  they  perceive  no  connection  between 
this  tenderness  and  self-denial  and  the  Christian  religion. 
The  men’s  conduct  is  finer  than  their  creed ; and  their 
whole  splendid  life  and  death  out  here  show  that. they  do 
value  ideals  (though  they  would  not  admit  it)  above  life 
itself.  The  real  religion  of  the  Army  is  expressed  in  ex- 
traordinary unselfishness  and  the  splendid  friendship 
between  men.” 

What,  then,  do  our  correspondents  say  as  to  the  main 
moral  weaknesses  and  limitations  of  the  men? 

A hut  worker  writes : “There  appears  to  exist  a strange 
mixture  of  morals.  For  instance,  a man  will  not  have 
the  slightest  qualms  of  conscience  in  stealing  his  neigh- 
bor’s blankets  or  rations;  but  in  the  line  the  same  man 
will  endanger  himself  to  save  the  life  of  the  man  he  has 
wronged.” 

The  taint  of  profanity  and  unclean  speech  has  ob- 
viously spread  very  widely  throughout  the  atmies. 

We  come  now  to  what  is  the  darkest  and  most  tragic 
element  and  clearly  also  the  gravest  evil  among  our  men 
— the  sin  of  immorality.  The  line  was  a very  much 
cleaner  place  than  the  base.  We  have  to  remember 
constantly  that  we  are  dealing  with  men  who  have  been 
placed  under  monstrously  abnormal  conditions,  and  there- 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


17 


fore  what  we  are  considering  is  not  only  moral  evil  but 
human  pathology.  But  by  whatver  name  we  call  it,  the 
results  are  disastrous.  They  point  to  radical  defects  alike 
in  our  methods  of  home  education  and  of  Church  teach- 
ing. 

From  an  officer : “Impurity,  I should  almost  be  impelled 
to  say,  is  the  rule  in  the  Army;  purity  the  exception.” 
From  a chaplain:  “No  one  who  has  lived  the  life  of  a 
soldier  in  France  can  doubt  but  that  impurity  is  the 
gravest  problem  the  churches  have  to  face.”  Another 
says,  “We  make  our  sex  problem  by  our  neglect  of  sane 
sex  education.” 

We  have  looked  first  at  the  lights  and  then  at  the 
shadows.  We  are  not  describing  two  different  classes  of 
men  in  this  chapter,  but,  to  a large  extent  at  least,  two 
aspects  of  the  same  humanity.  A private  writes : “There 
is  room  for  tremendous  hope.  These  men  are  all  right 
at  heart.  When  they  have  realized  that  Christ  is,  indeed, 
their  great  champion  of  right  against  wrong,  their  hero 
of  heroes,  the  bravest,  straightest,  most  loving  man  who 
ever  played  the  game,  then  they  will  respond  to  Him. 
They  are  ready ; I have  seen  their  hearts.  I feel  that  in 
the  words  of  the  hymn,  they  are  waiting,  ‘stretched  the 
hand  and  strained  the  sight,’  for  God.” 

VI  Points  of  Contact 

WE  are  brought  inevitably  to  inquire  what  are  the 
aspects  and  truths  of  Christianity  that  have  been 
found  to  appeal  most!  to  the  men  who  have  been  passing 
through  the  furnace  of  the  war.  We  give  the  results: 

1.  The  Reality  and  Power  of  God 
“The  men  have  been  up  against  the  realities  of  life  and 
there  are  only  a few  things  that  matter.  One  finds  the 
world  empty  of  all  but  life  and  death  and  God,  and 
religion  comes  to  its  true  place.  Theologically  most  of 


18 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


the  men  are  temporarily  fatalists.  A new  emphasis  on 
the  sovereignty  of  God  is  surely  indicated  here.”  From  a 
private : “Most  of  the  men  are  fatalists  or  materialists  in 
so  far  as  they  believe  that  if  it  is  their  fate  to  get  shot 
they  will  be  shot.  They  want  some  strength  outside  them- 
selves to  keep  them  going.  The  large  majority  of  them 
simply  fall  back  on  a sort  of  inarticulate  cry  to  some 
Being  whom  they  call  God.  After  all  ‘his  number’s  up’ 
may  be  only  a soldier’s  way  of  expressing  the  truth, 
‘My  times  are  in  Thy  hands.’  ” 

We  must  have  some  greater  power  on  whom  we  can 
throw  the  burden.  We  must  either  throw  it  upon  nature 
or  upon  God.  Surely  we  are  here  near  the  deep  primi- 
tive springs  of  all  religion,  that  sense  of  dependence  upon 
a greater  Being  which  alone  can  make  us  independent 
of  the  world. 

2.  The  Value  of  Prayer 

“The  value  of  prayer  is  a memory  of  childhood  which 
most  men  retain,  and  to  which  they  turn  in  times  of 
crisis.” 

“Prayer  as  a natural,  impulsive  cry  for  help  and  secur- 
ity has  greatly  increased.  Prayer  as  a habit  of  the  soul 
is  much  less  apparent.  Most  men  say  their  prayers  before 
going  into  action.  Some  who  come  out  safe  never  say 
them  again  till  next  time  they  are  in  like  danger.  But 
some  do,  and  make  prayer  a habit.  Even  in  the  others 
you  have  an  experience  to  appeal  to,  a point  of  contact 
from  which  to  work.” 

d.  I'cUowship 

We  have  seen  that  nothing  has  so  enriched  the  life  of 
the  men  as  the  new  spirit  of  comradeship.  A chaplain 
writes : “I  am  not  sure  that,  unconsciously,  the  soldier 
has  not  got  more  real  Christianity  than  we  realize.  What 
he  wants  is  interpretation.  Taking  the  simple  virtues  and 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


19 


truths  that  are  the  heart  and  spring  of  our  religion,  the 
soldier  is  much  more  nearly  giving  them  a true  place.” 

From  an  officer:  “The  need  for  unselfishness  is  prob- 
ably the  greatest  lesson  men  will  have  learned  from  the 
war.  If  religion  could  be  identified  with  this  in  the  mind 
of  the  average  man  he  would  be  no  longer  indifferent.” 
A chaplain  says : “They  are  unselfish  past  imagining.  I 
could  give  instance  after  instance  from  my  own  obser- 
vation. They  are  mightily  convinced  of  the  need  for 
fellowship.  The  church  had  better  learn  it  now.” 

VH  'i'liE  Men  and  the  Churches 

WE  have  set  the  outlines  of  the  mind  and  character 
of  the  average  soldier  before  our  readers.  It  is  only 
right  that  we  should  now,  with  equal  honesty,  endeavor  to 
discover  how  we  in  the  churches  appear  to  him.  How 
does  he  explain  his  aloofness  from  our  communions? 
What  does  he  think  of  us  all?  We  must  remember  that 
the  material  comes  not  from  the  men  we  know  but  from 
men  we  don’t  know.  We  are  dealing  with  the  much 
larger  class  who  are  without.  We  are  seeking  the  way  of 
reconciliation.  For  this  it  seems  essential  that  we  should 
realize  what  the  reasons  are  that  these  men  give  for  their 
indifference  and  alienation. 

To  the  query  in  the  questionnaire:  “What  percentage 
of  the  men,  would  you  say,  are  in  vital  relationship  with 
any  of  the  churches,”  about  four-fifths  of  all  the  numer- 
ical estimates  made  in  reply  to  the  above  question  give 
twenty  per  cent  and  under. 

It  is  probable  that  some  will  find  this  painful  to  read. 
There  is  a torrent  of  criticism.  These  men,  as  a whole, 
believe  that  the  churches  are  out  of  touch  with  reality 
and  out  of  touch  with  ordinary  humanity.  They  think 
them  irrelevant  to  the  real  business  of  their  lives,  anti- 
quated in  their  ideas  and  methods,  and  wanting  in  vitality 


20 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


and  conviction.  Yet  behind  all  this  there  is  an  implied 
faith  that  there  is  a very  great  difference  between  the 
churches  as  they  are  and  the  churches  as  they  might  be. 
The  charge  that  these  men  bring  against  us  all  is  that  we 
are  out  of  contact  with  God.  This,  little  as  they  may 
realize  it,  is  what  underlies  their  charge  of  being  out  of 
touch  with  man.  A constantly  recurring  note  is  that 
these  men  find  the  churches  lacking  in  the  spirit  of 
reality.  The  doctrinal  message  is  unintelligible.  They 
do  not  know  what  it  is  all  about.  The  idea  prevails  that 
the  churches  are  afraid  to  face  the  whole  truth.  It  can- 
not be  too  clearly  realized  that  this  charge,  unless  it  can 
be  met,  is  fatal.  Let  us  now  hear  the  witnesses.  ^ 

From  a staff  chaplain:  “Far  more  than  most  of  us 
realize,  the  stumbling  block  lies  in  an  un-Christian 
church  and  in  un-Christian  Christians.  They  feel  that 
they  miss  in  the  church  the  two  things  which  might  at- 
tract them  there,  viz. : Reality,  whatever  that  may  be,  and 
fellowship.  The  extent  to  which  churches  appear  to  live 
in  and  express  themselves  through  the  past  is  a stumbling 
block  to  the  average  man.” 

From  an  officer:  “The  multiplicity  of  contending  creeds 
and  competing  churches,  of  rival  sects,  bodies  and  fac-' 
tions,  all  professing  to  represent  the  true  Christian  faith, 
bewilder  the  men.” 

They  complain  that  the  clergy  and  the  ministry  are  out 
of  touch  with  the  men  and  the  times,  that  they  have  a 
sheltered  life.  Constant  reference  is  made  to  the  incon- 
sistency of  the  lives  of  professing  Christians.  What 
should  be  done  about  this? 

From  a hut  worker  in  France:  “A  very  small  percent- 
age of  the  men  with  whom  one  deals  seems  to  have  any 
real  connection  with  the  churches.  The  men  do  not  look 
to  the  churches  with  any  great  hope  that  they  are  going 
to  be  the  leaders  in  future  progress.  I am  firm  in  my  con- 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


21 


viction  that  the  first  thing  needed  in  all  the  churches  is  a 
new  baptism  of  the  spirit  of  reality.  Old  phrases  must 
be  abandoned  and  some  old  thoughts  must  be  revised  in 
the  light  of  the  facts  of  life.”  A chaplain  writes:  “The 
hindrances  keeping  them  out  of  the  churches  may,  I think, 
be  summed  up  in  two  words,  ‘starch’  and  ‘autocracy.’  In 
my  opinion  it  has  been  truly  said  that  there  has  been  more 
brotherhood  in  the  public-house  or  saloon  than  in  the 
average  church.” 

The  constantly  repeated  complaint  of  the  men  at  the 
front  is  that  the  churches  as  a whole  have  been  and  are 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  endeavor  of  the  working  classes 
of  the  country  to  better  their  social  condition.  We  here 
get  down  to  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  formidable 
causes  of  the  alienation  of  these  men  from  the  fellowship 
of  the  organized  church. 

From  a chaplain.  “The  questions  raised  by  the  Labor 
Movement  are  going  to  occupy  the  minds  of  our  young 
men  more  and  more.  And  in  that  connection  they  feel,  at 
present,  that  the  church  counts  for  nothing.”  Another 
chaplain  writes:  “The  attitude  of  the  churches  is  one  of 
protest  against  everything  of  which  they  do  not  approve, 
and  comparatively  little  is  done  by  Christians  to  provide 
good  and  wholesome  substitutes.  Men  feel  there  is  noth- 
ing in  the  program  of  the  churches  worthy  of  their  active 
support.  The  churches  have  lost  their  vision  and  spiritual 
vigor  and  their  power  to  inspire  man  to  great  enterprise 
for  the  Kingdom  of  God.” 

Dr.  Cairns  concludes  that  the  church  which  should 
have  stood  for  the  hope  of  the  whole  world  and  shown 
the  nations  how  to  throw  off  their  misery  and  sin  seems  it- 
self too  much  to  have  succumbed  to  the  materialized  life 
of  the  world  around  it.  The  charges  imply  that  the  radi- 
cal weakness  of  the  Christian  churches  today  is  that  they 
are  not  controlled  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  the  Lord 


22 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


and  Giver ’of  Life;  that  the  materialism  of  the  all-en- 


vironing world  has  penetrated  deep  and  far  with  para- 
lyzing influence  into  the  very  tissue  and  blood  of  the 
church  itself.  They  are  therefore  a challenge  to  the 
church  to  demonstrate  that  they  are  not  true  nor  just,  and 
it  must  be  a demonstration  not  of  words  but  of  spirit  and 
of  deeds. 

Part  Two 
CONCLUSIONS 
I Repentance  and  Hope 
E evidence  is  now  in  brief  before  the  reader.  The 


1 substance  has  been  given  and  we  have  in  the  closing 
section  to  narrow  our  inquiry  definitely  to  the  question 
as  to  how  the  situation  may  be  retrieved.  For  retrieved 
it  must  be  if  the  nation  is  to  escape  spiritual  disaster,  and 
if  we  are  to  reap  from  the  sowing  of  so  vast  a treasure 
of  precious  human  life  that  spiritual  result  which  alone 
can  make  it  worth  while.  We  believe  that  the  evidence 
in  our  hands  is  full  of  deep  and  startling  meaning. 

That  probably  four-fifths  of  the  young  manhood  of 
our  country  should  have  little  or  no  vital  connection  with 
any  of  the  churches  is,  perhaps,  the  most  salient  factor 
of  our  evidence.  Here  is  an  alarming  fact  which  is, 
surely,  clear  proof  that  something  somewhere  has  gone 
gravely  wrong.  The  very  first  necessity,  surely,  is  that 
this  situation  and  all  that  it  means  should  be  clearly 
recognized.  The  responsibility  and  the  shame  do  not  rest 
on  the  masses  alone,  but  on  the  Christian  churches  as 
well. 

The  furious  race  for  wealth,  while  it  has  led  to  vast 
aggregations  of  capital,  has  also  led  to  an  ever-deepening 
materialism  of  life.  Workmen  were  regarded,  not  as 
human  beings,  but  as  instruments  for  the  production  of 
wealth.  In  other  ages,  the  poor  have  been  the  stronghold 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN' 


23 


of  religion,  but  the  poverty-stricken  classes  of  modern 
industrialism  have  to  a large  extent  succumbed  to  the 
spirit  of  the  age.  Great  multitudes  have  lapsed  from 
religious  membership,  and  we  are  reaping  the  fruits  of 
this  failure  today. 

Have  the  churches  been  immune  from  the  general  con- 
tagion? The  contagion  of  practical  materialism  has 
spread  to  the  church  itself,  infecting  its  whole  outlook 
and  poisoning  the  springs  of  its  life.  It  is  impossible  to 
make  the  pursuit  of  wealth  and  pleasure  the  real  end 
of  life  and  at  the  same  time  to  know  the  energy  and  joy 
of.Christian  living.  “The  salt  has  lost  its  savour.” 

In  the  German  doctrine,  the  materialistic  temper  of  the 
whole  age  found  its  true  expression  and  exposure.  The 
German  doctrine  of  force  is  in  truth  the  symptom  of  a 
world- wide  malady.  Now,  the  whole  system  has  broken 
down  with  a crash.  The  world  is  being  judged.  The 
roots  of  this  lie  in  the  loss  of  faith  in  a Living  God.  In 
the  end  of  the  day  there  are  only  two  alternative  interpre- 
tations of  life.  Either  all  things  have  their  origin  in  One 
who  loves  goodness,  or  in  unmoral  force.  To  meet  this 
uprising  of  evil  there  must  be  a mightier  uprising  of  all 
the  powers  of  the  Spirit.  There  must  be  a new  birth  of 
faith  in  God. 

Where  should  such  a new  birth  of  faith  begin  if  not  in 
the  Christian  church?  So  trenchant  a denial  of  God 
demands  as  trenchant  an  affirmation.  We  have  to  bend 
our  energies  to  the  complete  retrieving  of  the  whole  situa- 
tion, the  winning  of  the  youth  of  the  whole  nation  to  the 
service  of  the  world-wide  Kingdom  of  God.  Is  not  the 
whole  question  whether  we  shall  accommodate  ourselves 
to  circumstances  or  to  God?  The  trouble  is  that  if  we 
accept  the  former  alternative  our  thought  of  God  will 
inevitably  shrink.  Whenever  in  our  souls  we  accept  as 
inevitable  something  which  we  know  ought  not  to  be, 


24 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


our  whole  moral  and  spiritual  energies  wane.  When- 
ever we  take  the  other  course,  we  take  the  way  of  faith. 
We  venture  ourselves  on  the  Christian  revelation  of  God. 
The  more  we  expect  of  Him,  the  less  are  we  likely  to  be 
disappointed.  There  must  be  a return  of  all  Christian 
men  to  a deeper  and  simpler  faith  in  God  and  His  King- 
dom. This  return  to  God  from  that  practical  material- 
ism into  which  we  have  fallen  is  the  central  message  and 
inner  meaning  of  the  whole  tremendous  judgment  of  the 
war.  It  is  the  one  way  to  meet  the  crisis  of  evil  with  such 
an  arousal  of  all  the  forces  of  good  as  shall  consummate 
this  great  crucifixion  'of  humanity  by  a spiritual  resur- 
rection. 

The  primary  ground  of  hope  lies  in  the  inexhaustible 
God,  in  His  power  and  love  and  liberty  to  help  men, 
manifested  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  made  available  for  us 
by  His  creative  and  revealing  Spirit.  Think  of  the  great 
tide  of  youthful  life  and  vigor  that  would  pass  through 
all  the  shrunken  channels  of  the  life  of  the  church,  if 
these  men  were  won  for  the  King  of  kings.  What  is 
needed  is  a widening  and  deepening  of  the  whole  outlook 
and  aim  of  the  churches.  If  we  get  this  right,  all  the 
nobler-hearted  of  the  men  will  come.  They  will  not  be 
able  to  keep  away. 

H Restatement — The  Vitalizing  of  Doctrine 

The  whole  life  of  the  church  depends  upon  its  funda- 
mental faiths  about  God  and  the  world  and  the  soul, 
the  person  and  work  of  Christ,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
church,  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  the  life  to  come.  Where 
the  Christian  doctrines  have  been  taught  to  the  men  they 
seem  to  have  been  taught  as  something  out  of  relation  to 
their  lives,  which  has  to  be  believed  as  a duty  rather  than 
as  a revelation  which  makes  reason  of  the  riddle  of 
human  life.  The  church  will  have  to  put  its  very  heart 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


25 


and  soul  into  the  work  of  restating  the  great  faiths  by 
which  it  lives  in  terms  which  the  men  can  understand. 
The  frequent  demand  for  “interpretation”  is  in  truth  a 
demand  for  the  vitalizing  of  theology,  for  the  restatement 
of  Christian  doctrines  in  terms  of  life. 

“There  is  no  more  startling  indication  of  the  way  in 
which  the  churches  have  got  out  of  touch  with  the  masses 
of  the  men  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  general  ignorance  of 
the  Bible.  If  there  was  one  thing  which  the  churches 
ought  to  have  been  able  to  do,  it  was  to  show  them  the 
interest  and  the  value  of  the  great  Book  of  God. 

There  are  two  points  in  the  minds  of  the  men,  as 
it  is  disclosed  in  the  evidence,  which  must  form 
our  starting  point,  the  practically  universal  belief  in  Al- 
mighty God,  and  the  practically  universal  respect  for  the 
character  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  it  is  the  practical  material- 
ism of  our  time  that  has  brought  the  world  to  its  present 
disaster,  then  the  central  necessity  of  the  hour  is  the  dis- 
covery and  manifestation  of  God.” 

If  the  account  given  in  our  papers  is  true,  the  weak- 
ness in  the  whole  religious  outlook  of  the  men  is  that  their 
thought  of  God  is  not  fully  Christianized.  The  Christian 
interpretation  of  life  is  broken  in  two  at  this  point  and 
what  we  have  is  simply  severed  fragments.  On  one  side 
is  God — “the  great  and  terrible  God ;”  on  the  other,  is  the 
remote  Jesus  of  history,  the  “gentle  Jesus”  of  the  hymns 
of  childhood. 

What  is  wrong  with  the  men,  as  with  the  churches,  is 
want  of  spiritual  hope.  Most  of  them  have  no  idea  that 
“human  nature”  can  be  radically  changed.  They  are 
possessed  by  the  idea  of  the  impracticability  of  the  good. 
Deep  at  the  heart  of  this  despair  lies  the  thought  that 
the  Christian  ideal  is  unworkable  in  such  a world  as 
ours,  that  the  world  in  its  essential  nature,  in  its  hidden 
depths,  is  not  Christ’s  world. 


26 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


Irresistibly  the  parallel  with  early  Christian  thought 
arises- in  one’s  mind.  We  know  that  then  a new  morality 
came  into  the  world,  inseparably  bound  up  with  the  per- 
sonality of  Him  who  taught  it.  Everyone  who  knew 
Him  knew  that  He  lived  it  out  without  fault  and  with 
an  amazing  freedom  and  energy  of  good,  and  called  all 
men  to  follow  Him  therein.  Jesus  made  it  practicable 
by  changing  men’s  idea  of  God,  by  Himself  manifesting 
the  Father.  The  Christian  confession  of  Jesus  as  Son  of 
God  is  not  only  a confession  about  Christ,  it  is  an  affirma- 
tion about  the  universe.  It  is  an  affirmation  of  faith  that 
it  is  Christ’s  world,  of  belief  in  the  Christ-likeness  of  Al- 
mighty God.  On  the  one  side  was  this  seemingly  fragile 
but  most  lovely  memory  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  on  the 
other  side  was  all  the  vast  course  of  nature,  the  glory 
of  history,  the  prestige  of  philosphy  and  learning,  backed 
by  the  brute  power  of  the  Roman  Empire — a world  of 
blood  and  steel  and  gold,  all  arrayed  against  the  practi- 
cability of  faith  and  love  and  hope,  and  the  possibility  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  New  Testament  writers  and  the 
early  church  knew  with  an  unerring  instinct  the  only 
way  to  maintain  the  practicability  -of  the  life,  and  that 
was  to  hold  by  their  Lord’s  own  witness  to  Himself  and 
claim  the  universe  as  Christ’s.  Either  He  was  a visionary 
or  “the  most  real  Being  in  the  universe.”  “Who  is  He 
that  overcometh  the  world,  but  He  that  believeth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?”  In  a word,  the  Christian  life 
was  practicable  only  on  the  basis  that  He  and  the  Father 
were  one.  The  lost  unity  between  Jesus  and  God  must 
again  be  restored.  There  is  nothing  in  God  that  is  not 
Christ-like. 

There  are  frequent  indications  in  our  evidence  that  the 
Cross  has  won  a new  meaning  for  the  soldier  in  his  own 
experience  of  the  great  problem  of  evil.  They  must  see  in 
it  something  vital  linking  up  their  lives  with  the  Son  of 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


27 


Man,  and  with  the  great  order  of  the  universe.  Surely 
there  is  the  deepest  need  for  the  teaching  that  the  Cross 
is  a voluntary  act  of  God,  Who  Himself  in  His  Son  freely 
came  among  men,  enduring  the  extremity  of  evil.  There 
can  be  little  difficulty  in  bringing  home  to  intelligent  men 
the  truth  that  vicarious  suffering  is  the  law  of  the  uni- 
verse. For  it  is  obvious  that  this  whole  generation  is  a 
vicarious  generation.  They  are  bearing  the  iniquity  of 
many  past  centuries  and  they  are  laying  down  their 
lives  for  the  centuries  yet  to  be. 


Ill  The  Central  NECESs■IT^■ 


HE  long  course  of  our  inquiry  leads  us  to  the  deep 


conviction  that  beneath  all  other  necessities  lies 
today  the  necessity  for  a return  to  Jesus  Christ — the 
simple  going  back  to  what  our  Lord  revealed  about  God 
and  man  and  the  future.  It  is  not  part  of  the  genius  of 
modern  Christianity,  as  a whole,  confidently  to  expect 
great  spiritual  victories.  This  can  only  mean  that  we 
have  a different  measurement  of  the  conflicting  forces  of 
good  and  evil  from  that  which  He  had.  We  think  evil 
stronger  and  God  weaker  than  did  our  Lord  and  His 
disciples.  To  return  to  Jesus  Christ  here  means  a revo- 


lution. 


If  for  many  generations  any  malady  affected  a whole 
race,  such  a race  would  think  of  its  condition  as  nofmal 
health.  When  we  come  out  as  disciples  in  the  presence 
of  Jesus  Christ,  we  enter,  therefore,  a world  of  new  dis- 
covery of  God  and  man,  immeasurably  more  wonderful 
and  beautiful  than  we  have  ever  known.  He  is  here  dis- 
closing to  us  the  very  roots  of  the  universe.  Depression 
in  his  presence  is  impossible.  The  future  is  lit  up  with 
promise.  In  the  wreck  of  the  old  order  we  divine  the 
beginning  of  the  new.  We  have  a great  and  hard  but 
immeasurably  inspiring  work  before  us  in  the  coming 


28 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


years.  The  long  battle  of  defense  and  retreat  is  over,  the 
moment  for  a great  common  advance  has  begun.  “It  is 
impossible  for  the  man  who  trusts  in  God  not  to  rejoice.” 

The  Son  of  Man  has  come  to  His  church  along  the 
great  ways  of  history.  He  is  among  us  to  lead  us  on 
to  greater  and  worthier  days. 

Shall  He  find  us  sleeping?  Shall  He  not  rather  find 
faith?  Let  us  expect  great  things  from  God,  and  attempt 
great  things  for  Him.” 


IV  Conclusion 


HUS  end  the  observations  of  Prof.  Cairns  and  the 


J.  commission  appointed  to  investigate  “The  Army 
and  Religion.”  After  reviewing  the  statements  presented 
by  the  soldiers  at  the  front  in  France,  what  conclusions 
are  we  in  America  to  draw  from  the  evidence  ? It  is  quite 
possible  that  a somewhat  larger  proportion  of  the  men  are 
connected  with  the  churches  in  this  country  than  in  Great 
Britain,  but  the  conditions  are  essentially  the  same  in 
the  two  countries.  As  we  review  the  material  and  sur- 
vey the  present  conditions  in  America,  may  we  not  agree 
that  the  war,  with  its  aftermath  of  unrest  and  demand 
for  reconstruction,  teaches  us,  among  others,  the  follow- 
ing great  lessons  ? 

1.  A call  to  return  to  God. 

2.  To  discover  for  ourselves  and  to  share  with  our 
generation  the  deeper  significance  of  Jesus  Christ  in  His 
life,  death,  resurrection  and  triumphant  indwelling  by 
the  Spirit. 

3.  A call  for  the  churches  frankly  to  recognize  the 
extent  to  which  we  have  failed  to  win  for  Christ  and  the 
Kingdom  the  virile  manhood  of  our  nation. 

4.  A call  to  ask  ourselves  personally  in  how  far  we 
have  clearly  perceived  and  are  triumphantly  proclaim- 
ing and  living  the  rediscovery  of  the  gospel,  the  dynamic 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


29 


good  news  which  is  the  deepest  need  of  our  day,  as  it 
was  in  the  generation  of  the  Apostles. 

5.  A call  to  a great  advance  in  evangelism  here  and 
now  in  our  own  country,  to 'unite  our  forces,  close  up  our 
divided  and  broken  front  and  go  forward  as  a living 
church  to  evangelize  our  nation,  Christianize  the  social 
order  and  win  the  world  for  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

In  the  light  of  the  revelations  of  the  war  and  of  present 
conditions  at  home  and  abroad,  let  us  ask  ourselves — indi- 
vidually each  for  himself — have  I the  joy  of  the  good 
news  of  the  enlarging  life  of  God?  Have  I rediscovered 
for  myself  Christ  as  a living,  bright  reality?  Have  I a 
life  so  rich  and  glowing  that  I cannot  help  sharing  it? 
Am  I a winner  of  men?  Is  my  life  one  of  overwork  or 
overflow?  Have  I a faith  that  is  contagious?  Have  I a 
life  that  is  worth  sharing,  an  experience  that  is  worth 
passing  on?  If  not,  is  there  not  a problem  of  how  to  get 
the  new  life  myself  and  how  to  share  it  with  others? 

The  question  is  answered  in  the  pamphlet  “Personal 
Evangelism,  the  Greatest  Work  in  the  World.”  * 

The  present  world  situation  constitutes  a mighty  chal- 
lenge to  America.  Our  nation  is  on  trial  before  the  bar 
of  humanity.  Of  all  the  great  allied  nations,  America’s 
manpower  alone  is  unimpaired.  She  possesses  nearly 
one-third  of  all  the  wealth  of  the  world.  By  virtue  of 
her  unique  position,  America  must  bear  her  part  in  the 
moral  leadership  of  the  world.  She  must  take  the  chief 
responsibility  in  world  evangelization.  She  must  lead  the 
way  in  attempting  to  solve  the  social  and  industrial  prob- 
lems of  our  day. 

* A booklet  for  training  in  personal  evangelism,  on  how  to  win 
men  and  how  to  start  a movement  in  every  church  has  been  pre- 
pared by  the  fnterchurch  World  Movement.  “Personal  Evan- 
gelism the  Greatest  Work  in  the  World.”  Published  by  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement,  45  W.  18th  St.,  New  York.  Price, 
5c  per  copy;  $2.75  per  hundred. 


30 


THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN 


We  are  summoned  to  the  central  necessity  of  evangel- 
izing our  own  land.  But  are  we  doing  this  today?  Sev- 
eral denominations  report  thousands  of  churches  which  in 
five  years  have  gained  nothing  in  their  adult  tnembership 
by  addition  on  confession  of  faith.  Many  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Sunday  school  have  entered  the  Church,  but 
the  Church  is  not  winning  the  manhood  and  womanhood 
of  our  nation  today.  Let  us  think  of  the  five  and  one- 
half  million  illiterates  in  our  land.  Let  us  face  the  fifty- 
eight  million  nominal  Protestants  outside  of  all  our 
churches  and  unreached  by  us.  Let  us  remember  the  sev- 
enteen million  children  of  nominal  Protestant  families 
that  are  not  in  our  Sunday  schools. 

Now  let  us  turn  from  the  nation  to  the  individual  con- 
gregation and  our  personal  responsibility.  Reader,  are 
you  and  I winners  of  men  ? Did  you  win  a single  person 
for  Christ  last  year?  Is  there  in  your  church  a group 
meeting  for  prayer  and  preparation,  who  are  actually 
winning  men  and  women  for  Christ?  If  not,  is  not  the 
need  of  the  hour  to  return  to  Christ  Himself  as  He  calls 
each  of  us  today,  “Come  ye  after  Me  and  I will  make 
you  fishers  of  men.” 

“Ye  shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 
upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  My  witnesses.”  “Go  ye,  and 
make  disciples  of  all  the  nations  and  lo,  I am  with  you 
always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,” 


-■ft";-.;. 


N 


